Science in rural and remote schools has received unenviable press around the world. The political and administrative spotlight has fallen on the inadequate physical resources available to rural schools (Hawkes, Halverson and Brockmueller, 2002), inadequate professional development (Howley, Chadwick and Howley, 2002), and the problems…

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative case study of the benefits for teachers undertaking the role of mentor/supervisor in pre-service teacher education programmes. The research has a particular focus on school-based teacher educators working in rural and/or isolated communities and uncovers the role of reflection associated with…

This article describes techniques for organizing curriculum in a one-teacher rural elementary school. Flexibility in grouping and teaching strategies, thematic approaches, and independent learning activities are emphasized. (SJL)

This article is a first person's account of working in a rural district affected by drought, economic recession and poor levels of services. It is a facto-fictional narrative describing a typical working day in the life of Peggy, the acting CEO of quality teaching, in what is locally referred to as an NIDA district (where everyone is acting).…

The experiences of two schoolmasters in the small Western Port Bay fishing community of Hastings (Australia) in the last century are presented to provide insights to present-day teachers about the nature of living and teaching in a rural community. The second schoolmaster did a much better job than the first in involving parents in school…

Explores departmental-policy implementation challenges faced by Australian principals of one-teacher schools during a time of unprecedented structural and organizational change, highlighting international contextual influences on the nation's public sector. Over a five-year period, senior management's relationship to principals implementing policy…

Analyzes interview findings related to the experiences of a teacher in a one-room school in rural Australia during 1937-39. Describes his required three-year appointment to a rural school, the school setting, teacher responsibilities, student characteristics, curriculum, and departmental inspections that involved evaluation of children's academic…

The Isolated Schools' Project offers final-year preservice teachers the opportunity to experience teaching in a nonevaluated situation in a rural or remote part of Queensland (Australia). Two student teachers describe their three-week experiences in isolated one-room schools. (SV)

The article discusses the educational situation in Queensland and offers an alternative to the present open education plan. It suggests: that traditional education is appropriate for teaching basic skills, as in specific areas of mathematics where one level of mastery may depend on certain knowledge at a lower level; that curricula which are…

A final-year student teacher from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) describes her student teaching experiences in a one-room school in the isolated town of Birdsville, focusing on the harsh natural environment, the demands of a multiage classroom, and positive attributes of the small school and community involvement. (SV)

A final-year student teacher from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) describes her student teaching experiences at Gunpowder State School, an isolated one-room school in central Queensland, focusing on techniques for managing the multiage classroom and teacher-community relationships. (SV)

A 5-year study of one-teacher schools was conducted by a single researcher in the remote North West Region of New South Wales, Australia. A personal narrative discusses problems of longitudinal research, peculiarities of gathering data in the chosen region, the close relationship of these isolated schools and their communities, and problems and…

Staff interviews addressed the changing roles and relationships between principals of one-teacher schools and administrators of the North West Region of the New South Wales Department of School Education. Over a five-year period, the approaches employed by administrators to implement departmental policy changes altered significantly and resulted…

Case studies of two small rural schools in Western Australia were conducted to examine the contention that neglect of distinctive economic, social and demographic environments of schools in rural areas has led to a tendency for rural schools to become carbon copies of urban schools, and thus to a mismatch between educational provision and the…

Based on research and discussions with rural educators in Australia and New Zealand, a new rural teacher preparation program at the University of Victoria (British Columbia) is intended to sensitize students to the professional life of teachers in small rural communities and to acquaint them with the demands of teaching multi-graded classes. The…